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It is a blessing to have the campus filled with students again as the spring semester is in full swing. Their energy and excitement makes me thankful for Vanguard and what God has planned for this spring.

Please join us Friday, February 24 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm in Newport-Mesa Church, as Dr. Jörg Haustein from the University of Heidelberg, Germany will be speaking at the annual Lewis Wilson Institute Seminar. Dr. Haustein received the John Templeton Award for young international scholars for his dissertation on the Historiography of Ethiopian Pentecostalism. The Lewis Wilson Institute for Pentecostal Studies seeks to encourage and support the study of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements by serving as a conference and research center for scholars, church leaders, students and others interested in probing the historical significance and contemporary global role of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movements. For more information, please visit vanguard.edu/lwi

If you haven’t had a chance to attend an athletic event at Vanguard, I urge you to go to an upcoming game. Our Vanguard athletes are part of the Champions of Character program and their passion for sports and ethics on and off the court makes me proud of the talented students we have here at Vanguard. For more information on our athletic department, please visit www.vanguardlions.com.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to please save the date for our Global Center for Women and Justice conference, “Ensure Justice: Standing Together to End the Exploitation of Girls” March 2nd and 3rd. Speakers for that event include Jeremy Kohomban of New York’s Children’s Village, Judge William Voy of Las Vegas Juvenile Court, and our own Mary Wickman Director of Nursing. For more information, please visit vanguard.edu/gcwj.

Greetings and best wishes this New Year! I hope your Christmas season was filled with many blessings and this New Year is full of promise. We have some great things happening this spring, and I am excited for the year ahead.

It is a blessing to have the campus filled with students again as the spring semester is in full swing. Students arrived back on campus in early January and their energy and excitement makes me thankful for Vanguard and what God has planned for this spring.

Our Undergraduate Admissions office is already diligently working on recruiting our fall 2012 students. We have many events this spring to introduce the Vanguard campus and community to potential students. On January 9, we hosted an onsite acceptance event and on January 20 there will be a campus visit day for potential students to visit the campus, meet current students and enjoy a day of fellowship.

If you haven’t had a chance to attend an athletic event at Vanguard, I urge you to go to an upcoming men or women’s basketball game this spring. Our Vanguard athletes are part of the Champions of Character program and their passion for sports and ethics on and off the court makes me proud of the talented students we have here at Vanguard. I also want to take this opportunity to congratulate our Women’s Basketball Head Coach, Russ Davis, on his 400th career win as the Lions won against Montana Tech at the Biola Holiday Classic. Coach Davis has coached our women’s basketball program for 15 years, and has led the Lions to numerous championships, including one NAIA National Championship. For more information on our athletic department, please visit www.vanguardlions.com.

Our Students In Free Enterprise (SIFE), a non-profit organization educating people on issues like market economics, entrepreneurship, and business ethics through educational outreach projects, will be hosting their annual event on February 10th. Each year, Vanguard students actively participate in this event to help bring positive change to the business world. For more information on our Green Conference, please click here.

Vanguard is also looking forward to our annual Homecoming on February 10th and 11th. Each year it is wonderful to welcome back Vanguard alums, hear their stories, and see the impact Vanguard had on their lives. Our alums live out the mission of Vanguard around the globe in the many ways they provide Christ-centered leadership and service.

Please join us Friday, February 24 from 6:30pm – 8:30pm in Newport-Mesa Church, as Dr. Jörg Haustein from the University of Heidelberg, Germany will be speaking at the annual Lewis Wilson Institute Seminar. Dr. Haustein received the John Templeton Award for young international scholars for his dissertation on the Historiography of Ethiopian Pentecostalism. The Lewis Wilson Institute for Pentecostal Studies seeks to encourage and support the study of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements by serving as a conference and research center for scholars, church leaders, students and others interested in probing the historical significance and contemporary global role of Pentecostalism and the Charismatic movements. For more information, please visit vanguard.edu/lwi

I am delighted to share with you that our English Professor, Dr. Karen Lee appeared on the cover of Diverse: Issues in Higher Education, a national publication on diversity in higher education. Dr. Lee was selected as one of twelve emerging scholars who are making their mark in the academy. Her story provides a clear and winsome testimony of her faith. To read her story and find the link to the magazine, please click here.

Lastly, I want to encourage you to please save the date for our Global Center for Women and Justice conference, “Ensure Justice: Standing Together to End the Exploitation of Girls” March 2nd and 3rd. Speakers for that event include Jeremy Kohomban of New York’s Children’s Village, Judge William Voy of Las Vegas Juvenile Court, and our own Mary Wickman Director of Nursing. For more information, please visit vanguard.edu/gcwj.

This is undoubtedly my favorite time of year. The air is crisp; the campus is filled with a blend of excitement and race to the finish as the fall semester comes to an end and we all get to celebrate the Christmas season with friends and family.

To kick off the Christmas season, I want to personally invite you to Vanguard’s 15th annual Christmas Fantasia concert. We offer two performances, one at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts on December 1 and another at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on December 2. Your spirit will soar as you watch Vanguard’s talented music department sing Christmas carols and get you in the Christmas spirit. For more information please click here.

Our Global Center for Women and Justice department has also been active this semester creating a number of community events that bring awareness and reflection on suffering and abuse and our call to serve compassionately. The GCWJ hosted a Solidarity Sleep Out where Vanguard students and community members spent the night away from the comfort of their homes to raise awareness about homelessness. To learn more about the Solidarity Sleep Out please visit www.solidaritysleepout.org

I continue to be thankful for the compassionate students we have here at Vanguard. Many of our students will be participating in missions trips this December. One example of how Vanguard students will be serving is at a Children’s Christmas Party, which provides food and gifts to over 300 children in need. For more information, please click here.

This semester we also celebrated the opening of our renovated Towers Lobby with its new outdoor patio space. We dedicated the new space with our Board of Trustees and then celebrated with our students. This is part of a larger project to renovate Huntington Hall, one of our oldest dorms on campus. This summer we completed renovation of the second floor and are continuing to seek funds to complete all floors of the dorm. For a video clip and photos of the new lobby space, please click here.

As all of us prepare to honor the birth of Jesus this Christmas season, it reminds me of all that I have to be thankful for this past year. Vanguard has been blessed so much that it is a true testament to God’s hand on Vanguard and the great plans He has in store for the University. I want to wish all of you a wonderful Christmas during this joyous time of year.

Fall is here and God continues to bless the Vanguard community. November is truly a season of thanks and this semester we have much to be thankful for and good news to share.

I would like to invite everyone to join me in starting off your Christmas season with our annual Christmas Fantasia concert. We offer two performances, one at the Renée and Henry Segerstrom Concert Hall at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts on December 1 and another at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church on December 2. Your spirit will soar as you watch Vanguard’s talented music department sing Christmas carols and get you in the Christmas spirit. For more information about the event and to order your tickets, please visit vanguard.edu/fantasia.

The Love the Lobby Dedication Celebration on October 20 was a huge success. The immense gratitude from students was so evident and the Vanguard community is so appreciative to the generous donors who made the refurbishing of the lobby possible. Students can now enjoy a new space to gather in community and create lasting Vanguard memories. For photos of the celebration please visit vanguard.edu/lovethelobby.

This November 12, Vanguard’s Veterans Resource Center will be honoring all veterans with dinner and a presentation by John Van Sky, PhD. Dr. Van Sky is a combat veteran and adjunct professor at Vanguard. He will be discussing the challenges veterans face when returning home from combat and the critical role of higher education in preparing the next generation for leadership beyond the battlefield. It is sure to be a great event that truly honors our veterans. For more information regarding this event, please contactBrent Theobald at (714) 966-5447 or via email at brent.theobald@vanguard.edu

I want to wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday; this season is a reminder of all the blessings God provides to each and every one of us.